Fix Firefox error ssl_error_weak_server_ephemeral_dh_key

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Key notes

  • The ssl_error_weak_server_ephemeral_dh_key message in Firefox pops up due to a browser vulnerability.
  • Error code: ssl_error_weak_server_ephemeral_dh_key is usually fixed by toggling the system preferences.
  • It would be even easier to avoid ssl_error_weak_server_ephemeral_dh_key in Firefox if you change the browser.
  • There aren't many solutions to this issue so make sure to try them all.
ssl_error_weak_server_ephemeral_dh_key error

Ssl_error_weak_server_ephemeral_dh_key is one of those annoying errors that pop up in the Firefox browser. The error message doesn’t come with a specific solution and it’s most likely a combination of troubleshooting steps that can cure this error.

As with all the other Firefox errors, we need to spare some time and understand why the error message is displayed in the first place.

The ssl_error_weak_server_ephemeral_dh_key error message may be displayed due to the following reasons:

  • The website you are trying to access may be vulnerable to certain attacks.
  • Certain websites secure their servers and in order to access these websites, you need to have secured server certificates.
  • If you are using Tomcat server it is most likely that you have no secure server certificate and thus the error message.

Basic checks

As per some of the users on the Firefox forums, the error message is also displayed due to an old driver in your browser and updating the same will get rid of the issue. In order to update the driver

  • Access Open menu and then click on Add-ons. Eliminate any unnecessary extensions.
  • Update the drivers if necessary

Some of the Firefox users have claimed that refreshing the browser will resolve the issue. In order to refresh Firefox follow the steps below

  1. Select Open menu, then click on the Help menu.
  2. Now select Troubleshooting Information.
  3. Click on Refresh Firefox.
Opera

Opera

Waste no more time on fixing a broken Firefox browser. Install and configure Opera in just a couple of minutes so that you can enjoy a seamless browsing experience.

How do I fix ssl_error_weak_server_ephemeral_dh_key?

1. Set Firefox to Ignore the SSL Error

Well, this might not exactly be the safest thing to do but most of the folks back in the forum have reported that this methodology works.

For this, to work you need to toggle two security codes in the Mozilla Firefox browser to false.

  1. After opening the Mozilla Firefox browser click on the Firefox icon.
  2. In the search bar type about:config.
  3. The browser will show a warning message that says This might void your warranty. Ignore it and click on I’ll be careful, I promise!.
  4. A new page will open and now you need to type security.ssl3.dhe_rsa_aes_128_sha.
  5. Check the Value tab, if it’s True, toggle it to False.
  6. Then enter the following value in the search bar security.ssl3.dhe_rsa_aes_256_sha.
  7. Again, change the value from true to false.

2. Disable SSL 2.0 in Tomcat Server

It’s quite possible that the Tomcat server might be enabled by default especially if you are using SSL 2.0.

In this case, verify that you have weak ciphers or SSL 2.0 enabled by entering your domain in this SSL Server Test.

Then, disable weak ciphers by opening the server.xml file and enter adding the following to your SSL connector:

SSLEnabled="true" sslEnabledProtocols="TLSv1,TLSv1.1,TLSv1.2" ciphers="TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256, TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384, TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_RC4_128_SHA, TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256,TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA,TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA256, TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA,SSL_RSA_WITH_RC4_128_SHA"

Considering that you have promptly followed the steps described above the Firefox should stop throwing the ephemeral message. Also, your web pages should load faster than before.

If you have any further tested solutions to this issue, don’t hesitate to drop us a comment below.

More about the topics: Firefox errors, Firefox guides